Geographical Scope

The geographical scope is continent-wide, extending from Iceland in the west to the Urals in the east (including European parts of the Russian Federation), and from Franz Josef Land in the north to the Mediterranean in the south. The Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores were also included. In the southeast, where definitions of Europe are most contentious, the Caucasus region was not included.

For all species except mammals, Red List assessments were made globally and at two regional levels: 1) for geographical Europe (limits described above); and 2) for the area of the 27 Member States of the European Union.
For terrestrial mammals, Regional Red List assessments were made at two regional levels: for geographical Europe, and for the 25 nation states that were members of the EU when the mammal assessment was initiated in 2005. For marine species, a single regional assessment was made, which applies to both geographical Europe and the EU. The marine area covered by the European Mammal Assessment encompasses the continental shelf seas of Europe (excluding Arctic waters), along with adjacent parts of the open seas. The whole of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea is included. The marine area corresponds to the region covered by the ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS agreements plus the portion of Norway’s Exclusive Economic Zone that lies south of the Arctic Circle.